Scarred
by smile1
Summary: Charlie/Jason 1 piece. Charlie braced her hands against the body and began pushing. The weight slid off her too quickly and easily. Scrambling into a sitting position, she found the brown eyes belonging to the person responsible staring down at her. "Nate..." "It's Jason," he shared with her. He dipped his head to hold her gaze as she became nervous. "We need to leave this place."


**Disclaimer: I don't own the show _Revolution_, nor do I own its characters. All I own is my imagination and the laptop I write this on.**

**A/N: **I have been MIA when it comes to the fanfiction scene. I have been busy and all of those other things I have kept me from taking the time to write. I have been keeping track of all the shows though, including _Revolution_. I think it's a show unlike any of the others on at the moment and, of course it has provided me with 2 new pairings to completely fall in love with. Yes, I have to admite to liking the Charlie/Miles pairing. It's so wrong it's right. This story, however, is focused on my obsession for the Charlie/Jason/Nate pairing. It's a shame the show didn't give us a final taste of those two in the last episode. It's going to be taking over my mind until _Revolution _returns. Until then, we'll have fanfiction to turn to. This is my first attempt at a Charlie/Jason/Nate piece and I hope I don't disappoint.

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**Scarred**

_It was you who stayed with me when the sky fell through._

She didn't have a choice but to go in after him. He would have done the same without so much as a single breath wasted if she had been the one who had fallen into the enemy hands of Monroe's men. Just like Miles, Charlie had tracked them back to wherever they were held up. He was her family, her blood and enough of her family's blood had been unnecessarily spilled. Aaron and Nora had followed her lead, although Aaron had needed some more convincing than Nora. He had even tried to talk her out of the plan she had concocted, reminding her of everything that could go wrong. That had only lasted for a minute.

From outside, the building looked like any of the other abandoned warehouses they had crossed paths with, but according to Nora it was a temporary weapons storage and holding facility. The security stationed outside proved her point for her. Nora and Aaron agreed to take care of the men out front, distracting them while Charlie slipped in. Not unnoticed, because there would be even more of Monroe's men inside, so she simply walked up to the door and knocked. She fed them the story she had been working on, about how she had been captured by Monroe and sent here as a compensation for whoever had their hands on her uncle. Charlie didn't remember names as well as Nora and Miles did. Still, she got away with it, overdoing the cluelessness in her voice and visibly trembling a little. She came across as fearful as she should have been, but determination was what kept her upright. The men laughed, making some crude comments to each other about her before pulling her inside without throwing so much as another glance outside.

The leers made her uncomfortable and she did her best not to jump from their reach whenever one of them went to touch her face or hair. It was almost a relief when she was pushed into a closet-sized room with a pile of clothes in her hands. She undressed and redressed herself quickly, not wanting to give the men outside the satisfaction of anything, although the outfit she was given left little for them to guess at: the thin white, almost transparent sheet that had to function as a floor length skirt, the grey navel skimming top. She pulled on her own boots underneath, shoving a knife she had hidden in her jacket inside of it. Her sudden appearance had distracted them from their duties, the way she had hoped it would. She shook out her hair to get in character as much as she could, having her imagination to go on and some of the gritty things she had witnessed in her relatively short lifetime. Charlie looked back longingly at her brown leather jacket and finally decided to shrug it on anyway, letting it shrug off one of her shoulders, hoping that the total package would be a seductive one. She came back out and the gazes of the men outside went over her approvingly, letting her know that she had at least accomplished that part of her mission. They shoved a bottle of alcohol and a glass in her hands and brought her into a hallway, a door waiting for her at the end.

Charlie lightly kicked against the door and was granted entrance almost instantly. She stumbled in, her head lowered as submissively as she could muster. She spotted Miles as soon as she entered, sitting in a chair with his hands and feet bound. Blood was streaked down his face but he still looked as courageous and stubborn as ever, giving the man torturing him a run for his money. His eyes went wide when he saw her and he opened his mouth, but Charlie subtly shook her head, pretending to shake the unruly locks from her face. She put on a shy smile and looked at the other man from beneath her lashes. She didn't exactly know how to do this, how to be alluring and ask for the attention she had never sought out. She had yet to have her first kiss, since her father had been so protective of her, wanting to shield her from the outside world as long as possible. It had been a noble cause.

She held up the bottle and the glass for the man who had been tormenting her uncle, angling her body towards him enough so he would catch a glimpse of the slit in her skirt and the legs it so noticeably showed off. With his eyes gleaming hungrily he retracted his focus from her uncle and shifted it onto her. "Well, well, who are you?" he asked, taking a step towards her. "I don't remember you, and a face like yours I would have made an effort to not forget." He reached out and his fingers briefly touched the side of her face, although she felt the prints burn into her skin even when he pulled back to close the door behind her.

Charlie took a breath. "I'm new, sir," she added dutifully. "Monroe found me a while ago. He sent me over as a reward. To keep you motivated until he arrives."

From the corner of her eyes she saw Miles' entire body tense up, his eyes narrowing as he mouthed her name. A smile appeared on the other man's face, one that sent shivers down her spine, the wrong kind, the kind that made her doubt her plan to simply barge in here. She went against her own instincts when she took a step towards him. "Your men also asked me to bring you this." Charlie shook the bottle of alcohol, the man's eyes briefly lowering to it. Only for a second, before they were on her again. He took the bottle and glass from her, setting the glass down behind him. "Who am I not to be grateful and accept the gifts that are given to me, am I right?"

He took the top off the bottle and took a swig from it. "Cheers," he said, raising the bottle in Miles' direction. The clear liquid dripped down his mouth and chin as he gulped from the bottle once more, after which he held it out to Charlie. She politely shook her head. "I don't drink, sir."

He chuckled. "You don't or you have never?" He took another drink. "Don't tell me Monroe managed to keep his hands off you and not corrupt you before sending you on your way?"

She saw the look in his eyes change, his belief in her faltering, and decided that she shouldn't give him enough time to think twice and doubt her. She had learned that if you gave people the time to look for something that was wrong, they would most likely find something. And if the man found something, he would probably act recklessly and blow her cover because neither she or Miles would be able to simply sit back and watch somebody wreak havoc on the other. Charlie took a few more quick steps forwards, aware of Miles' presence beside her. Her boots stepped into something wet, probably blood but she forced it out of her mind for now. She had to do this. "I'm just better without the alcohol." She tilted her head and bit her lip as if she had just said something that she shouldn't have.

Her words cleared the man's mind of any thoughts that didn't go beyond what she could possibly look like beneath those clothes. "Are you now?" he asked, moving fast. He came to stand right in front of Charlie. "I guess I'll have to experience it for myself." She could smell the alcohol on his breath and feel the roughness that inhabited him as he put his hands on her. One on the hollow of her back and the other gripping her hip, his fingers kneading against her bare skin. She squirmed beneath the unfamiliar touch, purposely not looking at Miles. She knew there would be barely containable fury and regret there. And she tried not to think of the look that would have been in her eyes if she had been watching herself act like this from the sidelines. This was life nowadays; anything went for the survival of herself and her loved ones.

"Gareth, she's just a girl. Probably underage."

"Just the way I like them," he whispered in her ear, pressing his lips against her earlobe as he ignored Miles' plea.

"Why? Women your own age can't stand you?"

Miles was stalling, doing anything he could to draw Gareth's attention from Charlie. The sight of that grown man practically throwing himself at his niece was one he couldn't stomach. In a pre-Blackout world this would have been considered as wrong, but in today's world morals had shifted. He saw the relief take over Charlie's body the second Gareth let go of her. He allowed Miles to momentarily distract him, his fist making a sound Charlie would remember for a long time as it made contact with Miles' face. Charlie made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a whimper.

"Close your eyes if you don't want to watch," Gareth told Miles, looking down at him with a smug smile on his face.

Charlie took advantage of the moment and reached for the knife she had stashed away, soundlessly pulling it out. As Gareth turned back around to face her, she braced herself with both hands and drove the weapon forwards, not stopping when she felt the resistance of flesh. She kept pushing until she couldn't any more, tuning out the sounds Gareth made. He stumbled backwards a few steps, hands reaching for the knife. She had driven it in handle deep. He struggled to say something, but there was only blood. Gareth fell to the ground at her feet, his scream silent as life left him.

Charlie looked around the room for anything else that would cut through Miles' ropes, not knowing if she had the stomach to pull the bloodied knife from Gareth's chest. Finding one on the table beside the couch, she grabbed it and dropped to her knees in front of Miles, not meeting his eyes as she did so. She began cutting through the ropes around his ankles. "Are you okay?"

"I've lived through worse," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Not even a smile?" he remarked when Charlie remained quiet.

She kept working on the ropes, figuring that if she didn't respond Miles would realize the severity of the situation.

"You know this was an incredibly stupid thing to do, right?" Miles went on, trying a different angle. He sounded angry, though the emotion was mostly feigned as somewhere he had counted on the rest of them to come and get him. He had never thought it would have been Charlie to be the one to do so, since he had assumed that either Nora or Aaron would stop her.

"You can just say thank you, you know." Charlie looked up at Miles as the rope fell from his ankles.

Miles shook his head, though the hint of a smile lingered because he appreciated the slight attitude she had to her. Charlie attempted a smile, but she couldn't manage one. She hadn't lived through enough of these situations yet. Instead she simply gave Miles a look as she got back up. She had intended to move behind him to free his wrists, but never got the chance.

Miles hadn't seen it coming either. He had been too focused on distracting Gareth and obtaining his own freedom. "Charlie," he said her name as calmly as he could.

But she felt the barrel of the gun against the bare skin of her back before the words could tumble from his mouth.

"Drop the knife," the person behind her demanded.

"Do it," Miles urged her on.

Charlie stubbornly shook her head. "No."

"I would listen to him, darlin', unless you're willing to lose your life over doing something reckless."

"She's not. You're not, Charlie," he repeated to her, the look in his eyes letting her know that she should stop acting so stupidly.

"Uncle Miles..." she said in a small voice, reminding them both of happier times. But it had been a thoughtless thing to say as she felt the gun dig into her skin a little more. "Uncle, huh? Interesting."

Charlie dropped the knife and she was pulled backwards roughly.

"Don't hurt her," Miles told the man.

"She should have thought about that before parading in here pretending to be something she's obviously not," the man spat out harshly as he positioned himself in front of Charlie, blocking her view of Miles. "Although your plan was good, maybe it even worked too well, huh." He waved the gun from Charlie to the couch and back again. "How about you lay yourself down on there."

Charlie shook her head.

"If you lay so much as a finger on her, I will break every single bone in your body," Miles threatened.

The man only laughed, ignoring him as he grabbed Charlie with his free hand. "I think it's time for me to give you the actual experience and not let this opportunity go to waste. For me it's a win-win." He gave her a rough push.

Charlie landed on the couch, but moved to get up. She had to stop when the man pointed the gun at her.

"Now what did I tell you to do?"

He moved the gun and aimed it at Miles.

"Son of a bitch."

Charlie looked around the room for another way out, but there was none. The best she could do was put up a fight and distract the man enough to let his guard down, buy Miles more time to free himself. She sat back on the couch, lowering herself down on her back. Her breaths were quick and uneven as the man came closer, looking down at her like she was his drink of cold water he had been wandering the desert for. His eyes sought out hers, but she closed them.

A gunshot boomed through the small room and her eyes flew open just in time to see the man in front of her come tumbling down on top of her. It became harder to breathe and everything got too much. She braced her hands against the body and began pushing. The weight slid off her too quickly and easily. Scrambling into a sitting position, she found the brown eyes belonging to the person responsible staring down at her.

Jason reached for her, but Charlie flinched and jumped up from the couch. It was what he had expected, how he had pictured her to react. But he wished it would've been different. Despite everything, she had remained open to him, trusting him even though she shouldn't. She hadn't witnessed enough betrayal to be as jaded as he was. And he was glad he got to her in time, because this would've changed her. But maybe it would've also been for the better? A thick skin and his guard up were things he had had from a young age. The environment he had ended up in had corrupted him. He had already been tainted, the water no longer clear but turbid, offering him a chance to still get back out before he waded into the murkier parts.

He wanted to tell her not to go any further. Ankle deep was far enough.

Preserving innocence was his weakness, one his father simply ignored since having a conscience was not of the time and situation they were in.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine," Charlie said at the same time, her breaths still shallow as the realization of where she was and what was going on kept crashing against her in waves. It barely gave her time to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?" She suspiciously eyes his uniform and took another step backwards.

"Hey," Jason held up both of his hands, looking from her to Miles, "I'm only here to help."

"Like you did last time when you threw me off a moving train?"

Jason lowered his hands. "To protect you."

"I would have rather stayed with my brother," she told him, passionately bringing a hand to her chest.

"I'm glad he threw you off the train," Miles interjected, regaining their attention.

Charlie threw him a look.

Jason took a step towards Miles, stopping briefly when Charlie's eyes found his once more. "I'm going to untie your uncle, who is gratefully going to-"

Miles snorted. "Don't push your luck, kid. How about I don't snap your neck and we'll call it a day."

Jason nodded, placing his gun in his pocket before going over to Miles.

"So, care to share what you're doing here?" Miles inquired.

"Rebelling." Jason cut the ropes.

Miles rubbed his wrists a few times before getting up. "Convenient timing."

Jason shrugged. "I got lucky."

"Oh, I doubt it," Miles retorted, grabbing a knife from the floor while scanning the room for other weapons. "But you protected Charlie from one of your own, so ..." He held Jason's gaze for a few seconds, the boy not looking away.

"We should probably get out of here."

Miles nodded. "If you know a way out of here other than through that door," he nodded at the door behind Jason and Charlie, "then I'm open to suggestions."

Jason quickly gestured at a bookcase. Miles quirked an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me." He headed for the bookcase while Jason's eyes landed back on Charlie. She still stood in the same place, the bottom of her skirt no longer white.

Miles began pushing at the bookcase, looking at Jason to jump in. Jason helped pushing the bookcase aside, revealing a hidden passageway to a tunnel of sorts.

"How medieval of Monroe," Miles commented while throwing a look inside the tunnel.

Jason came to stand right beside him, shoulder to shoulder. "She's not fine, you know," he told Miles, referring to Charlie.

Miles glances over at Charlie, a worried look taking over his features. "I know." He walked over to where the girl was still standing, getting her attention by standing directly in front of her, temporarily blocking the body from her.

"Charlie." Miles sighed. "Now's not really the time to..." he didn't finish his sentence as he saw the emotions flash in her eyes, putting himself in her shoes for the moment. "Okay," he began again, "I know this is a lot to go through and you have every right to freak out, but you need to hold it together until we get out of here." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, stopping her from going back into her reverie.

"I can do that," she told him, offering him a brave and comforting smile.

Charlie bent down, picking up the gun the man had dropped when he had been shot. She turned her eyes away, her hands shaking. Her eyes accidentally found Jason's again and her bottom lip quivered. She looked so frail and young right then that he felt her emotions pull at his. It was a chain reaction. He moved closer quickly, his hand closing over hers as he took the gun from her. "I'll take it. I'll be right behind you," he told her, raising his voice a little so Miles would hear his promise as well.

"Nate..."

"It's Jason," he shared with her. He dipped his head to hold her gaze as she became nervous. "We need to move. We have to leave this place."

He threw Miles a look and the two nodded at each other, an understanding having been formed.

Miles was the first one to disappear into the tunnel.

Charlie made her way over more slowly. Jason couldn't help but take her in as he followed her. He could imagine her living in California, near the beach and wearing bright colors. An image came to mind of a movie he had once seen, but it faded quickly. She was beautiful with her sun kissed skin and bambi eyes, too beautiful to put it all on display in that white skirt and barely there top. It was a different world now and it was better to remain unnoticed.

She looked at him cautiously, not sure whether she could trust him or not. He saw the blood at the bottom of her skirt. She caught him staring and turned her head. "Are you coming with us?" she asked, wanting to hear him confirm it before entering the tunnel.

He nodded. "Do you have a problem with that?"

She moved to enter the tunnel, but stopped briefly to look at him again, Jason now standing incredibly close. "Just know that I don't trust you."

He only nodded and followed her into the tunnel. They hurried to catch up with Miles, though made sure to keep a little distance in case they ran into any trouble. And it gave her the chance to share some private words with Jason. She slowed her steps until he had caught up with her.

"You saved me multiple times now," she began, capturing his attention as he fell into step beside her. "You didn't have to do that."

Jason nodded.

"So, why did you? Are you really rebelling or is there more to it?"

"It's complicated," he confirmed.

"Was it me?" she asked, the words sounding innocently stupid as they left her mouth. He looked down at her, not fully understanding what she meant. She momentarily bit her lip, regretting her question. She had just blurted it out, wanting to know whether his compassion had been because of something about her. She couldn't deny that Jason was attractive and that she felt something unfamiliar in her stomach whenever she was near him long enough to really look at him. She took a deep breath. "I mean, you saving me, was it because of you wanting to prove your rebellion or because of-"

"Oh," he interrupted, catching her drift. He licked his lips, an action that didn't go unnoticed by her and she could have sworn there was an irregularity in her heartbeat.

"Because of you," he admitted to her, forcing his eyes to the darkness ahead of them.

"But you don't know me."

He chuckled. Charlie stopped walking, freezing him on the spot as well when she placed a hand on his arm. Jason's eyes dropped down to her fingers on his uniform. "Tell me. Why did you laugh at me?"

She frowned and so did he, looking down at her. "It's just. The way you grew up must have been so different from how I was brought up." He licked his lips. "This world, at least when you're born into the militia is... You haven't seen the extent of everything. The world is no longer just rough around its edges, it's..."

"Rough," she finished. "Yeah, I've noticed. And experienced." She brought her fingers to her bare stomach. "I guess I should thank you for this being the extent of what happened."

His eyes bore into hers before softening. "We need to keep moving."

And they did. "Are you... were you like that as well?"

"Does it matter now?"

"My uncle changed," Charlie carefully mentioned. "And I think that was a hard thing to do considering all he has seen and done."

"Well, I didn't change. I have always been like this. Compassionate, or overly sensitive as my father always puts it."

"Or human," she stated.

They remained quiet as they followed Miles. The tunnel curved upwards slightly and they emerged at the back of the building where Nora and Aaron were waiting for them. Charlie gave them a smile, letting them know that she was okay. She was alive.

"Okay, kiddo, this is where we part ways," Miles said, turning to face both Charlie and Jason, but looking pointedly at the latter.

Charlie's eyes widened as his words registered. "What? Miles, no! We are not just leaving him."

"We're not leaving him. We're outside. He can run too, just not in the same direction as us. Plus, he's militia, I'm pretty sure he can fend for himself."

Charlie looked at Jason who had already moved a step away from them. Before he could take another, she took a hold of his sleeve and his eyes locked with hers. "You're not moving. You're coming with us. He's coming with us," she repeated to Miles.

Miles shook his head. "No, he's not."

"Yes, he is. He saved me. Again. That has to be worth something, even in your book?" When Miles remained silent, she moved closer to him, all the while keeping a hold of Jason. "Miles, I know you're renowned for killing people, but you are just one man and if Jason hadn't stopped that man in there," she paused to take a breath, "I would have had more damage done to me than just a few bruises."

"What happened?" Aaron asked, his tone worried as he moved closer.

"Miles," Nora said.

"She's fine," he reassured them. "You're fine, aren't you?"

"On the outside."

Miles let out a defeated sigh, his eyes showing how sorry he was for the situation.

"But I'm glad I went in there after you. You would have done the same for me. Look, I don't have a lot of people to care for and love... "

"The feeling's mutual," Miles returned quickly, holding her gaze for a while before pulling her in for a hug. She let go of Jason. "If he hadn't killed the bastard, I would've." It was meant to be comforting and she took the words that way.

"I was counting on it."

"Good." He let her go and looked at Jason. "You can come."

Jason nodded.

Miles joined Nora and Aaron, quickly filling them in and reassuring them as much as he was capable of.

Jason came to stand beside Charlie. "So, how are you doing on the inside?"

"I'm... damaged," she finally decided on the word.

"Beyond repair?"

Charlie shrugged.

"The scars will form a protective layer," Jason remarked.

She looked away, having to take another deep breath. Realizing that she was living in a world in which a little internal damage was the least of her problems.

"It won't change you. If you're strong enough. And don't worry, today doesn't count." He touched his shoulder to hers so she would look at him. "Good."

Miles threw the two of them a look, sharing one with Charlie before signaling for them to follow him and get moving.

Jason gestured for her to go first. But he was always just a step or two behind her, holding on to his humanity as he did so and looking after hers.

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**Please review? **I greatly enjoyed putting this piece together and getting used to writing the characters. I'm sure it's far from perfect, but I hope it will fit in with the other stories on here. I would really appreciate some feedback? Critique is also more than welcome as I am always looking to improve my writing. I will say goodbye for now, but I have a feeling that I have found my new niche in fanfiction. :) Thanks for taking the time to read this!


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